[StBernard] Film Training & Revenue, Boom in St. Bernard Community

[Westley Annis]

Film Training & Revenue, Boom in St. Bernard Community

 

St. Bernard Parish has been experiencing the glamour of Hollywood actors,
producers, directors, and crew members filming in all parts of St. Bernard
Parish. Seven productions have filmed since the beginning of this year. As
of May 2008, over thirty productions have filmed in St. Bernard Parish. Some
of the stars making cameos are: Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Brad
Pitt, and Nick Nolte. The reason why film and television shows are flocking
to St. Bernard is the community: our police department, our fire department,
St. Bernard Parish Government and the school board have played key roles in
making St. Bernard an incredibly friendly film destination. While visiting
celebrities are the talk of the town, film production is having an
incredible economic impact on the community. The St. Bernard Parish Office
of Film and Television has been working hard on creating Hollywood south in
St. Bernard Parish. 

 

“Our department  consists  of myself and Christopher C. Brown, we’re
actually one of the smallest departments in St. Bernard Parish Government.
Together, we have generated a positive economic impact for our community. We
are seeing a very promising future for film and television in St. Bernard
Parish. One of the primary reasons we’re able to achieve our goals is
because we work directly with the film and television scouts and producers,
and take great pride in showing them many of our historic landmarks,
municipal, and private properties. We also help negotiate the contracts and
advocate for our community to insure they are compensated fairly for
providing the industry with filming locations. We’re on call 24/7 for film
producers and scouts who want to shoot films here in St. Bernard Parish, as
well as any resident of St. Bernard Parish interested in providing services
or locations. As a result, both private and public property owners are
reaping the benefits, as well as many citizens, employees, and various
business owners in our Parish. We also have a vendor list and locations
photo gallery on our website at www.stbernardfilm.net
<http://www.stbernardfilm.net>  that we often share with producers,” said
Ryan Fink, the director of the film and television office.

                         

St. Bernard Parish is seeing a large number of productions, resulting in new
spending and investment opportunities. HBO’s True Detective spent (on the
lower end) $100,000 here in St. Bernard Parish. The St. Bernard Parish
Sheriff’s office has collected a total of $18,200 in Police Details thus far
in 2013. St. Bernard Parish School Board is also experiencing a positive
impact, hosting the feature film When the Game Stands Tall and the
television series Star-Crossed, both of which used Chalmette High School as
a location for filming. The total revenue to the St. Bernard Parish School
Board for these two shoots was approximately $30,000 in direct payments. The
School Board also had several other requests, but had to refuse due to
conflicting school activities and ongoing renovations and construction. More
payments of approximately $5,000 were also paid to employees in the
maintenance and custodial departments. “Our school facilities have been
prime locations for the film industry for many years. The financial benefit
has allowed our schools to purchase additional instruction materials for our
students. Just as importantly, in many cases,  our students have been
invited to be a part of the production, gaining first-hand experience with
what goes on behind the scenes. This has greatly enhanced our TV Production
classes and Cultural Arts programs  for our students,” stated Doris Voitier,
Superintendent of St. Bernard Parish Public Schools. The Sigur Civic Center
was also compensated $5,050 for the use of its ballrooms as a location for
the film crew for dining. The money earned by the Sigur Civic Center will
help alleviate some of the Parish taxpayers’ burden, the Center’s financial
gains shall aid it in paying its utilities, maintenance, repairs, and
supplies. The St. Bernard Parish Hospital has also played host to several
film and television productions, earning $32,000 in revenue. "The hospital
is grateful that Ryan Fink and Christopher C. Brown are such great advocates
for St. Bernard Parish in attracting the film industry and promoting the
different facilities of St. Bernard Parish, which is helping the hospital
show off its pristine environment, and state-of-the-art medical equipment
that is available to the people of St. Bernard Parish," stated Wayne J.
Landry, Volunteering Chief Executive Officer of the St. Bernard Parish
Hospital. 

 

“We are seeing a significant increase in sales tax revenue and believe the
film industry is one of the key factors for the uptick  in revenue. I have
been pushing the Film and Television office to lure the film industry to St.
Bernard Parish and to date, we are seeing an increasing number of
productions being filmed in St. Bernard Parish,” said St. Bernard Parish
President, David Peralta. 

 

While many municipal properties are seeing substantial gains in revenue,
private industries and business owners are also seeing the benefit of the
film industry. ABC/Disney recently shot a new series entitled The Occult
here in St. Bernard Parish. 




“Rain CII is pleased to have hosted Disney-ABC at our Chalmette site and we
are hopeful that this television project will create additional
opportunities for other local businesses and industries,” said Rain CII’s
president and CEO Gerry Sweeney. “The experience was a positive one for us
and we believe it could be great for economic development efforts in St.
Bernard Parish.” Chalmette plant manager Jimmy Delaneuville agrees, “Now
that production companies have another foot in the door in the Parish, we
hope they’ll come back and work with other businesses and industries in the
area. We are proud of our roots in Chalmette and look forward to other
chances we will have to help the local community and its people.”

 

Louisiana offers a 30% transferable credit for total in-state expenditures
related to the production of a motion picture. The tax credits are fully
transferable. Only money spent on production costs within the borders of the
state of Louisiana will qualify for the 30% tax credit. An additional 5%
labor tax credit can be earned on the payroll of Louisiana residents that
are employed by a state certified motion picture production. The tax
incentive program is the key factor why the Film industry is flocking to
Louisiana. 

 

Revenues being earned by the St. Bernard Parish Government are being
re-invested back into the St. Bernard Community. St. Bernard Parish Office
of Film and Television is sponsoring Ready Set Film: PA Bootcamp
<http://novacvideo.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=68d1eb910b9c4f1e5d3f84d
8c&id=05657240d0&e=8d65138915> , which is currently seeking applicants in
the St. Bernard area who are interested in finding careers in the local film
industry. St. Bernard is partnering with NOVAC (New Orleans Video Access
Center) along with Film New Orleans, the Mayor's Office of Cultural Economy,
to provide two days of in-depth production assistant training to locals
looking to get their foot in the door of Louisiana's booming film industry.
The course will be taught by instructors from Quixote Studios’ PA Bootcamp,
and locals shall gain the hands-on experience they need to prepare
themselves for their first job on a feature film, television, or commercial
set.  

 

HOW TO APPLY: Applications are available to residents of either Orleans or
St. Bernard Parish.  All Interested applicants should complete the
application at:
http://novacvideo.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/RSF.PABootCamp.Ap
plication.pdf
<http://novacvideo.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/RSF.PABootCamp.A
pplication.pdf>   

 

Once an applicant has filled out the form, they must email a completed
application along with a resumé to workforce at novacvideo.org
<https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1&tf=1&source=mailto&to=workforce@
novacvideo.org>  by SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14th.  Interviews will be scheduled
between September 12th - 18th and acceptance announcements will be made on
September 20th. If accepted, participants must pay a $75 enrollment fee to
cover the cost of class materials. Late or incomplete applications will not
be accepted.